-- THE ARCHIVE --

MALAYSIA
Judicial CP - March 2011

The Borneo Post, Kuching, 4 March 2011, p.14

Unemployed man gets four years, cane for robbing woman

KOTA KINABALU: A local man was yesterday jailed four years and
ordered to be whipped once by the Sessions Court here for robbing
a woman.

Datu Azman Datu Amil, 23, pleaded guilty before judge Caroline
Bee Majanil to robbing the 22-year-old woman of a cellphone, RM52
cash and a silver necklace in front of a hotel at Jalan Sulaman
on Dec 12, 2010.

The unemployed accused who was charged under Section 395 of
the Penal Code, had committed the offence with an accomplice who
is still at large.

The offence is punishable by a maximum 20 years' jail and
whipping upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Afzan Abd Kahar told the court that
Datu Azman, who was with his friend, approached the victim who
was sitting at the said place waiting for her friends and
suddenly restrained her and snatched her cellphone.

Datu Azman then took out all the victim's belongings from her
wallet, while his friend watched over so that no one would notice
what they were doing.

Afzan further said that Datu Azman then pulled the victim's
necklace, adding that soon after that, the victim's friends came
and screamed after seeing their friend being robbed.

Click to enlarge

Datu Azman and his friend then fled the scene with all the
belongings but he was arrested by police who conducted a patrol
near the area and the victim identified Datu Azman as one of the
robbers.

Afzan added that the victim's cellphone was found in the
pocket of Datu Azman's trousers.

In mitigation, the undefended Datu Azman prayed for a lighter
sentence saying that he was drunk when he committed the crime.

Afzan pressed for a heavier sentence as this is a serious
offence which is rampant in Sabah.

The Borneo Post, Kuching, 11 March 2011

Snatch thief gets five years' jail, three strokes

TAWAU: The Sessions Court here yesterday
sentenced a 28-year-old man to five years' jail and three strokes
of the cane for robbing a 17-year-old female student of her Sony
Ericsson K530 cell phone.

Abd Samad B Kumut, a birth certificate holder, pleaded guilty
before judge Hajah Egusra Ali to a charge under Section 392 of
the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to 14 years and
fines or whipping, if convicted.

Deputy prosecuting officer Tania Arissa told the court that
the accused committed the offence at a road near the Tawau Sports
Complex, Utara road here about 3.15 p.m on March 6.

Police revealed that the female student, Deana Binti Dopuinge
was walking along the road together with her friends towards the
sports complex when the incident happened.

The accused tried to snatch the cell phone worth RM600 from
the victim but she resisted.

Click to enlarge

The accused then punched the victim on the mouth and ran away
with the cell phone.

The victim and her friends shouted for help and a few men
inside a car got out and chased the accused.

They managed to detain the accused after a 20 metre chase and
handed him over to the police upon their arrival.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 14 March 2011

Malaysia reveals 30,000 foreigners caned

Malaysia says it has caned nearly 30,000 foreigners since
2005, a revelation that drew condemnation from rights groups who
demanded an end to the "barbaric" practice.

Amnesty International says that caning has hit epidemic
proportions in Malaysia, where the beatings are administered with
a long stick that leaves permanent physical and mental scars.

Rights groups were outraged after it emerged that the
government said in a statement to parliament last week that a
total of 29,759 foreign workers were caned between 2005 and 2010
for various immigration offences.

"Judicial caning is a form of torture and ill-treatment
against human beings because it causes physical suffering,
psychological problems and constant trauma," Andika Abdul
Wahab from rights watchdog Suaram said in a statement.

"This form of barbaric solution is prohibited" by
international law, he added.

Suaram said the foreign workers were usually picked up during
large-scale crackdowns on illegal migrants. Malaysia is one of
Asia's biggest importer of labour, with workers mostly coming
from neighbouring Indonesia.

London-based Amnesty also urged Malaysia to immediately halt
judicial caning, which is meted out for serious crimes including
murder and rape, as well as for immigration violations.

"The government's figures confirm that Malaysia is
subjecting thousands of people to torture and other ill-treatment
each year," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific director of
Amnesty International.

"While most countries have abolished judicial caning,
Malaysia has expanded the practice. Parliament has increased the
number of offences subject to caning to more than 60," the
group said.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein declined to comment on the
issue on Monday but an aide confirmed the minister's statement
made to parliament.

Corporal punishment has become a hot topic in Malaysia,
particularly after a Muslim mother of two was sentenced to six
strokes of the cane and a fine for drinking alcohol in 2009.

However, caning for such religious offences - ordered by
Islamic courts which run in parallel with civil courts in the
Muslim-majority country - is much lighter than in the civil
justice system.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno's sentence for drinking alcohol was
eventually reduced to community service but three other women
then received between four and six strokes of the cane after
being convicted of sex outside marriage.

"Malaysia not sorry for caning of asylum seekers", two-minute news report from ABC TV news in Australia, Feb 2011. Interview with an illegal refugee who got caned, and a Malaysian official. Comments also by somebody from Amnesty International.

HERE IS THE CLIP:

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